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A Message From Corwyn Linton - Part 1
The following quest took place on Saturday the 11th of February 2012. Participants where Hayley (Female Elf Witch), Cohen (Male Dwarf Monk), Michael (Male Dwarf Fighter), Hayden (Male Human Rogue) and Toby (Dungeon Master). This quest was not pre-planned and was created entirely adlib. Our quest opens on the One Eared Bugbear Tavern (as it so often does), although this time we find ourselves peering in it's grimy windows during the middle of the day. The place is near deserted save for a table of currently unemployed adventurers sitting in one corner. A well dressed young man enters and quickly scouts the room, by default our adventurers win his interest. He approaches them with an offer of work and a message from his master, a merchant by the name of Corwyn Linton . Some word of our heroes previous exploits have reached his ears (Namely the seizing of a fort outside of town, along with the recovery of a sizeable Mana Crystal) and he wishes to employ the services of these brave few to protect a wagon. The adventurers read the well written letter (denoting intelligence) and look over the well dressed messenger (denoting wealth). They consider their current employment (or lack there of) and smile at the sound of a purse containing 50 gold pieces, and advance if they accept the mission. They agree. The wagons leave first thing in the morning, the round trip will take near a week. Meals are included in their wages and if successful they stand to gain a further 150gp as a group. The party spend the afternoon gathering a few essentials, there is talk of acquiring a wagon of their own which ultimately bears no fruit. After a good night sleep they meet the wagons down in the street first thing in the morning. They are met by a large (both in height and weight), balding human male in his late 40's by the name of Jonothan. He is gruff, impatient and impolite. He is also the leader of the expedition. The convoy is three wagons in total, with the middle covered in a large oiled cloth and a great many barrels and wagons underneath it. The Witch detects magic and finds an aura upon the rogue and others within the central wagon. The party split into two groups, half riding in the first wagon, the remaining in the back wagon. They set off and settle in for a long journey. The wagons head out a city gate and through the slums that huddle the city walls. Soon they have left behind even the farming and rural communities and are now into the wild lands. Jonothan pulls the convoy off the road at dusk, ultimately not too far from the fort some of our heroes cleared out only a week or so ago. After the evening meal the caravaneers settle down for sleep and it is time for our adventurers to earn their keep. The Monk and the Rogue take first watch. Nearing the end of their watch the keen Dwarven eyes of the Monk and sharp ears of the Rogue detect movement near the camp. Chittering and a volley of arrows reveal a Goblin ambush! A brief and violent fight results in everyone receiving wounds (some worse than others) and several dead goblins. One of which dying from a flung burning log from the campfire by the witch. Sadly though the log came to rest in the long dry grass of the surrounding savannah and it wasn't long before a large blaze took hold. The caravan team quickly pulled down the tents and moved the horses while the heroes splashed down the wagons with water and pushed them back onto the road and out of harms way. Jonothan was furious, his face flushed red and sweaty. There was no point pitching camp again further down the road so the convoy moved on. In the early morning a plume of smoke could be seen rising behind them on the horizon. By the middle of the second day the group could see the Wychwood on the horizon. The old road continued directly towards those woods, while a newer, recently cut road veered off to circumvent the woods entirely. One of the wagon drivers explained that although this new road meant a longer journey it was ultimately safer. The road had been commissioned by the Grey Lords who where constructing an outpost out in the wilderness, the very destination of these wagons. An exhausted convoy pulled over early in the afternoon with most people sound asleep as the sun descended over the horizon. Our adventurers noticed that on the far side of the woods, up upon the mountain range that extended behind them several dragons could be seen fighting in mid air. Breathe weapons lighting up the sky. The rogue came to the assumption that a very large piece of Mana Crystal must be in the area, and while he had not the skill to acquire it himself, the information of it's location might be valuable. During the night sounds where heard from the Wychwood, combat perhaps? The fighter even swore he saw some of the trees moving! All where glad to be a safe distance from the dark woods. Thankfully the night passed without any drama and the wagon team pushed on early in the morning. The team pushed on into the night, eager to reach their destination and avoid spending another night camping in the wilderness. They succeeded in doing so without any difficulty. They arrived at their destination late in the evening, an outpost consisting of a wooden palisade on to of a hill, complete with trench dug around the base. No permanent buildings where found inside the walls however, only several large tents. Our party was shown to one of these tents after being fed and then healed by the outposts resident Cleric. Thankfully no watch was required by them this evening and so they all slept soundly. In the morning the wagon was ready to head back to Grey. The contents of the second wagon had been replaced with new crates, about half of what they had brought to the outpost. The witch again detected magic and found that the magical aura's coming from those crates was so strong it gave her a headache. The rogue noticed a blue glow coming from between the cracks and gaps in the crates and surmised that their contents must be a great many Mana Crystals. Their travels for the first day where not impeded and they pitched camp for the night on the side of the road, not too far from the Wychwood. Near midnight at the change of watch a scream broke the night silence and echoed across the grassy planes. The keen Elven eyes of the witch spotted a girl or young lady sprinting across the field towards their campfire, an enormous wolf (Bigger than a horse) bursting from the woods behind her. The players sprinted towards her, the girl sprinted towards the players and the wolf closing the gap every second. A clash, like two armies running down hillsides to meet in a valley. The speedy monk was at the front, moving in front of the girl to protect her, the wolf pounced on him for his trouble, knocking him to the ground, with some distractions from his fellow party members he managed to wiggle loose. It was an epic battle, the Rogue being brought to unconscious twice as he battled the beast. The fighter let loose many arrows, the Witch in sheer frustration charged the beast and thumped it with her staff, even the young lady they had rescued threw a dagger that scarred the beast. Ultimately though it was the monk that delt the finishing blow, breaking ribs and rupturing internal organs with a vicious flurry of blows. Wounded and tired the party retreated to the campfire. The young lass they rescued introduced herself as Jessica D'Corelean a daughter of one of the Grey Lords . She explained that she had been based at the outpost and was leading a team into the Wychwood. Her party had come under attack, she did not know from whom or what though as she had been knocked unconscious by a tree branch. When she came to she attempted to retrace her steps back to the outpost, she was nearly free of the woods when she came under attack from the wolf. Despite being the daughter of a Lord, Jessica did not come across as haughty, arrogant or ignorant (Typical traits of such Noble Brats). The rogue even noticed that she held herself with a certain grace and most likely possessed similar skills to his own. Jonothan eventually emerged from his tent with his best manners, obviously keen to grovel at the feet of a Grey Lord family member. He showed Jessica to a tent and the night passed without further event. Thankfully nothing more dangerous other than conversation with Jonothan occurred on the remaining two day trip to Grey . The fighting dragons where spotted again early in the morning on the second day of the return trip. Jessica spoke with the Rogue at one stage, thanking him for saving her life. She also mentioned she was aware of his 'Trade' and that she may have use of such skills in the future if he was interested. Upon arriving back in Grey, late in the evening, the tired and sore party returned to the One Eared Bugbear Tavern. Not long after, the same messenger that approached them with the mission, returned with another letter and another pouch of gold. The letter, in summary, thanked the heroes for their fine work. Corwyin went on to say that he always had a need for capable adventurers who could be depended on. He would be in touch again with more work, and soon. Our tired group of friends shared a drink and then carried their aching bones upstairs to bed. Category:Quests